2023 Château Saint Pierre, Cuvée Eden, Côtes de Provence Rosé, Provence, France.
A taste of Summer in the glass and a fabulous crisply mineral fresh and bone dry Côtes de Provence Rosé by Château Saint Pierre, an ancient property first established by in around 1055, that specializes solely on Rosé. This 2023 is the first time in many vintages that I got to sample Château Saint Pierre’s unique Cinsault led Rosé and I was not disappointed with its steely refreshing personality, which was perfect to start a sunny meal, it is brisk and zippy, but with good complexity and palate pleasure, showing bright sour cherry, strawberry, subtle watermelon, ruby grapefruit and raspberry water fruits, along with saline, wet stone, rosewater, snappy herb and a hint of peach pit. The Eden Cuvée, in this vintage as usual, was stainless steel cool fermented and aged with a short crush/maceration and bottled quickly to preserve clarity and tight detailing, as seen here on the latest release. While not overly deep or concentrated, this wine is seriously delicious and easily quaffable and perfect for warm sunset sipping as an aperitif and or with a beach picnic. I wholeheartedly suggest you search this Rosé out and enjoy it over the next six months, I don’t recommend missing it, as it has very much joy on offer, and I know I’ll be pairing it with steamed mussels in a spicy broth.
Château Saint Pierre, now run by Jean-Philippe Victor, the fourth generation of sons to head this historic estate, has some fifty-five hectares of vines to work with to make his tasty collection of regional Rosé offerings. The winery and vineyards go up from the Argens River to the foothills of the Maures Mountains, and is planted to the mentioned Cinsault, as well as a good amount of Grenache and Syrah, which make the cepage of the wines here at Saint Pierre. The 2023 saw 40% Cinsault, 30% Grenache and 30% Syrah, which is a touch more Syrah that I remember or would personally like to see in a Rosé, though it really worked out well in this edition of the Eden Cuvée, which is vibrant and impeccably balanced. The Côtes de Provence AOC is influenced by the near by Mediterranean Sea, stony limestone and clay soils, warm exposures and a cool Mistral wind that keep the vines from suffering in the hot Summer conditions. Recently, so you notice, the glass bottle at Saint Pierre has changed, sadly the original glass, a bowling pin shape, is not available as a result of Putin’s overt aggression and invasion of Ukraine, but replaced with another distinctive fluted bottle. I must thank my friend, Laurent Michit, who imports Château Saint Pierre, for sharing this new release, and Michael Marcy of Cultura Comida y Bebida in Carmel-by-the-Sea for proving a tasty array of treats to go along with it!
($21 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive